Detroit UnderS.T.R.E.S.SPremiers October 7th 2017

July 27, 2016

Stir it up: Getting it right on Detroit's 1967 rebellion

Over the next year we’ll be hearing a lot about the violence that erupted in cities across the nation in 1967. From New York to Houston to Portland, Oregon, there was fighting in the streets as African-Americans rose up in rebellion against the racist conditions they were forced to exist under.

JD Hayworth on NMTV | David Van Wie on his documentary 'Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.'

April 21, 2017

David Van Wie was en route to the shooting range with his father when he noticed the notch marks at the base of his dad's gun.

"I asked him what they were doing there, and he said, 'What the hell do you think they're doing there?' " Van Wie said. "He told me he had shot a couple of people as a police officer, but he didn't really elaborate."

Two decades passed before Van Wie learned the rest of the story: In the early '70s, his father had served on the Detroit Police Department's infamous "Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets" unit, known as S.T.R.E.S.S.

June 1, 2017

New Film Explores Controversial Police Unit

In the early 1970s, the Detroit Police Department decided to try something new, in its effort to reduce crime. The new film, "Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.," tells the story of that unit. Phoenix-based filmmaker David Van Wie is the movie’s producer and director.

October 2017

David Van Wie on Bryan About Town Weekend Sponsored by blueharbor bank

David Van Wie Director of Detroit Under Stress talks about his film that won Best of Festival at the Full Bloom Film Festival. The film tells the story of a controversial undercover program during the 1970's in Detroit.

November 21, 2017

For David Van Wie, the idea for his documentary, Detroit Under STRESS, came after learning about his father’s involvement with a controversial special police task force in the ‘70s, known as S.T.R.E.S.S (Stop The Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets).

Jan 12, 2018

Filmmaker explores dark side of Detroit police work

As a child in Michigan, David Van Wie never quite knew what his father did for a living. He went to several police funerals, but his dad was tight-lipped about his occupation. Van Wie graduated high school and, while in college, he asked his father to take him to the shooting range. It was there he noticed notch marks on the bottom of his .357.